PREP YEAR IN REVIEW: Girls Bowling Coach of the Year Jeff Woszczynski, Alton

PREP YEAR IN REVIEW: Girls Bowling Coach of the Year Jeff Woszczynski, Alton

Pete Hayes, phayes@civitasmedia.com

Published
7:01 am CDT, Thursday, July 28, 2016

ALTON — Jeff Woszczynski has seen a lot during his years as a coach. He’s helped create a solid bowling program at Alton High. That came after some 10 years helping lay the groundwork for East Alton-Wood river’s soccer team as its head coach.

And following last season, Woszczynski said it was time to step away. He is stepping down as the coach of the girls and boys bowling teams at AHS.

“It was just time,” he said. “I’ve been fortunate to work with some great kids and some great coaches. But after so long, you know when it’s time to stop.”

He will be replaced as the AHS bowling coach by former assistant Dave Meyers, who will “do a great job,” Woszczynski said.

“I started thinking about (stepping down) about a year or so ago,” Woszczynski said. “But the program is being left in great hands.”

Last season, Woszczynski’s Alton girls went 12-2 overall and were 10-2 in the Southwestern Conference. They captured the league crown outright, ahead of rivals Collinsville and O’Fallon.

“Winning the SWC was huge for the girls,” Woszczynski said. “It was the first time we had won it since my first year coaching at Alton.”

That was 2001.

“This was a special group of girls,” he said. “They have all been special in their own ways, though.”

In all, Woszczynski’s girls teams advanced to the state tournament twice and won five regional tournaments. His boys bowlers advanced to the state tournament five times and won six regionals. Although he started coaching the girls in 200-2001, the IHSA didn’t sanction boys bowling until 2002-2003.

This past season, the Redbirds girls were second to the Collinsville Kahoks at the Collinsville Regional Tournament and advanced to the Johnston City Sectional at SIU Bowl in Carterville. But they missed out on qualifying as a team for the state tournament by one spot.

“We had one bad game as a team al season and it had to come in the final one of the sectional,” Woszczynski said. “It was tough to take - we were so close.”

Ashley Heistand, the Girls Bowler of the Year, came through with a third-place overall finish at the sectional and was No. 2 among individual qualifiers. She finished 28th at the state tournament in Rockford.

A multiple Bowling Coach of the Year award winner, Woszczynski also won the Boys Soccer Coach of the Year honor twice during his days at EA-WR in the 1990s.

Through the years, Woszczynski has coached a fair share of outstanding bowlers. Among them were 2001 individual state champion Whitney Cox, her sister Ashley Cox, as well as Eryka Graham, who graduated this past spring, and Heistand, who will be a senior next year.

“There have been some great kids,” he said. “If I started naming them all, we’d be here all day. It’s been very satisfying and it’s been fun.”